Archive By Section - Equine

Each time Jonathan Sheppard sent out Ever So Lucky in the company of a training partner last summer, the precocious 2-year-old would dig in and would refuse to be beaten, even if was nothing more than a simple work around the track at the Hall of Fame trainer's farm in Pennsylvania.

Michael O'Brien, 68, whose career as a steeplechase jockey ended following a fall in the 1974 Carolina Cup steeplechase, passed away last Friday afternoon at Tallaght Hospital in his native Dublin, Ireland, following an illness.

The Carolina Cup Racing Association's "Salute to the Military" at last month's running of the Marion duPont Scott Colonial Cup Steeplechase proved to be a flag-waving event in more ways than one with the unveiling of a mural of "Old Glory" sponsored by McDonald's. It was sent to a unit from McEntire Air Force Base which is currently based in the Middle East.

Kip Elser, who develops and preps yearlings and 2-year-olds at his Camden-based training facility, Kirkwood Stables, served as a panelist at the Summerhill Stud'ss Ready to Run Gallops in South Africa earlier this fall.

Irvin S. Naylor's Black Jack Blues, a recent Irish-bred import which sailed to two impressive victories in his only U.S. starts, including the $250,000 Grand National, was named the National Steeplechase Association's Lonesome Glory Champions Award winner, bestowed on the horse with the highest earnings in the current racing season.

The $100,000 TD Bank Marion duPont Scott Colonial Cup feature highlighted Saturday's six-race card, which included five steeplechases races and one on the flat and brought the curtain down on the 2011 National Steeplechase Association campaign.

Articles by Section - Equine

On a day in which temperatures hovered in the 50s and, at times, featured swirling winds, the undercard at Saturday's 83rd running of the Carolina Cup races at the Springdale Race Course was equally varied.

A few hundred yards away, trucks carrying workers zig-zagged their way in and around the Springdale Race Course in final preparation for Saturday's 83rd running of the Carolina Cup. Tucked away in a barn located behind the National Steeplechase Museum, Brian Murphy stands atop the straw in a stall as he brushes down one of his horses with the only sound here being that of a few chirping birds on a relaxed Monday morning.